From tree to lasting memory

How it all starts:Like most woodworkers my projects start with a trip to the lumber yard. Picking out the right boards and loading them up in the truck. Starting a project like this is exhilarating, the thought of cutting into lumber, ripping it down. Hearing the saw sing and smelling the fresh aroma that is only found deep within each board. As I stare at the lumber in my rearview mirror, I am not thinking about all the hard work and pain that will be needed to complete the project all I can...

Making the decision to save this tree was an easy decision. What came next was the hard part. How do I cut up all this wood? So I began to look into this dilemma, fortunate for us we live in a time that information is abundant through the Internet. My first stop was at http://www.diybandmill.com/ this website was very helpful. Here I found hundreds and hundreds of examples of people building their own sawmills at a reasonable price. For me this is a doable project but as I look deeper into s...

After much debate I moved ahead to build a Bandsaw type saw mill. So, I begain looking for the parts needed to build this saw. Being a frugal person my first stop was Ebay. For $50 I got a used EDCO SB24-35W Self Propelled Walk Behind Concrete Saw
Why concrete saw, well for 50 bucks I got-a Hydrostatic transmission
Wisconsin (Gas)engine and may other parts that will come in handy

Well after two years of planning and buying parts, I came across a guy selling a used saw mill. So I had to reconsider the whole idea of building one. As they say that was a “no brainer”
This is my first sawmill so I can’t compare it to others but it works very well. It had plenty of power cut throw that 26” wide oak. The up and down uses a manual crank it is a bit hard to run the saw up but it does work. It is a Log Master LM 1 Portable Sawmill. It has a 30” capacity th...

I don’t any heavy equipment so I built a logs arch to move the log around the yard
The log arch works like this see-saw
I can pick a 2000 lbs log with it, getting it rolling takes a little help from my boys!

Would it be funny if I said “I am a little green when it comes to drying wood” or ” I think my wood has an ear infection, it equilibrium is off” It sounded funny in my head, oh well.
Like milling logs, drying them is all new to me. I have found there is no shortage of good informatiom on drying wood from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_drying to books like Fine woodworking on wood and how to dry it http://www.amazon.com/Wood-How-Fine-Woodworking-Edi...